Travel for Work

Network with your colleagues

Help establish Best Practice guidelines and recommendations to assist employers and organisations in keeping employees and members safe, healthy, and productive while travelling abroad and upon their return.

Council Members

Basic Operational Structure

The Travel for Work Group is governed by a Council elected by its membership. The Council consists of at least five (5) members, one of which will be Chair and one Vice-Chair. It is anticipated that subcommittees will be formed from within the group members, and the elected council may appoint cooperating members. The Group Chair will report to the ISTM Executive Board and serve on the ISTM Leadership Council.

Steering Council Membership

At least five members – up to seven

The council members must represent different world regions and at a minimum three continents should be represented. It is recommended that no more than two members per continent should serve on the Council.

Interest Group membership may be multidisciplinary.

Interest Group members must be full ISTM Members.

Members seek participation out of genuine interest in the Group and its initiatives.

Potential council members are required to present their CV and a written vision statement. This application need not be proposed and seconded and can be self-declared on advertisement of the open position.

Members and Officers serve terms of two years, with a limit of two, two year terms in succession.

Approximately one third of members are elected every two years to allow for continuity.

Steering Council Officers

Two officers: Chair and Chair Elect, each serving for a two-year term.

Chair Elect becomes Chair at end of term

Immediate Past Chair remains on Council as Ex-Officio (non-voting) Member for 1 two-year term.

Do you counsel patients who travel for work?

ISTM Executive Board has approved the Travel for Work Interest Group. This group is free to join with your ISTM membership and will give you the opportunity to collaborate with other ISTM members who council all types of patients that travel for work including sports organisations, the entertainment industry, NGOs, military contractors, religious organisations, independent contractors and volunteers.

The Travel for Work Interest Group aims to establish best practice guidelines and recommendations to assist employers and organizations to keep employees and members safe, healthy, and productive while travelling abroad and upon their return. The goal of this group is not to establish occupational health specific guidelines, requirements or standards, as these already exist within a country or industry.

The goal of this group is to, through inter-collegial consultation within the ISTM forum, provide international best practice guidelines for sending employees abroad, focusing on destination specific disease risk mitigation, safety issues and access to adequate medical care. The type of travellers targeted in this group include, but is not limited to corporate/executive, (frequent) travellers on multiple short trips (< 7 days) staying in 5 star hotels, workers sent on labour-intensive projects (< 1month) and expatriates/long term assignments (months to years). This group will address a) pre-travel assessment, including screening/fit for travel examinations, vaccine and malaria recommendations, and general travel health counselling b) Injury and illness abroad, including access to medical care issues and insurance c) post-travel evaluation, d) corporate social responsibility issues as they relate to medical matters (E.g. malaria control measure for expats vs local employees - and their families).

Goals for the Group

Establish recommendations for "fit for travel"/screening examinations for international occupational travel including accompanying employee dependants, taking home, host country and international legislation and guidelines into consideration.